In My Head
by my-beautiful-disaster
Summary: It had never occurred to me what it would be like to be stuck in someone else’s body. I hadn’t in a million years thought it could possibly happen. Even with the wonders of magic. But how could anyone truly know what it's like until it happens?
1. The Assignment

Chapter One: The Assignment

It had never occurred to me what it would be like to be stuck in someone else's body. I hadn't in a million years thought it could possibly happen. Even with the wonders of magic. But that view all changed that fateful day. That day would forever be engrained in my memories.

As I sat in Potions, staring at Oliver longingly, Professor Snape decided to introduce a new project. I perked up a bit, projects were always worth vast amounts of points and would be showcased for all the 7th year Potions classes to view. Then he said that it would involve partners. I looked for Sally James, the second best potion brewer in our class, after me. She looked over at me and nodded. We would blow the others out of the water.

"I will assign partners for this project." With those seven words, my heart sank. He would probably assign someone who couldn't tell Horned Toads from peppermint. My grade was surely doomed.

I looked over at Sally in horror. She smiled meekly and I knew she was thinking the same thing.

"Leah Sawyer," Snape called. "You'll be partnered with..."

The suspense was killing me. He had paused to look about the room. I silently wished he would find somewhere in his heart to be kind and partner me with Sally. I shot a quick, hopeful glance at her. She held up two crossed fingers.

"Ah... Oliver Wood," Snape said. I heard Sally groan quietly. It was odd how attuned to her I was. We'd been friends since first year, but best friends since only last year. I promised myself to look it up later.

I picked up my things and walked over to his table. It felt like a walk of shame or something along those lines. I felt my face heat up; I knew half the room, the half with two X chromosomes, was staring at me with envy and anger. All the girls wanted him; even though they all knew he was arrogant and didn't keep girls for very long.

As I sat beside him, my heart seemed to jump into fourth gear. It felt as though my heart was racing a dragon. I didn't like it and I wasn't used to it. Surely a heart can't beat this fast without eventually slowing to nothing. I needed to breath or else I might faint. Which would definitely make quite the impression around a room who didn't even know who I was.

"Hi, I'm Leah." I had somehow managed to squeak that out. I was embarrassed at how small my voice sounded. Couldn't I possibly have some bloody confidence?

He looked at me, sizing me up. My face probably flushed scarlet and I looked down. "Oliver."

"I know." Was all I could muster to say. Why couldn't I come up with something that made me seem more confident?

I let my brown hair fall down over my shoulder so there was a wall between us. I was dead certain that he was able to pick up my uneasiness around him. I swore I heard him laugh; I tried to pretend I hadn't heard it.

When Professor Snape had finished putting people into groups of two, he went to the board and flipped it so that everyone could see what was expected.

"You are to make a Polyjuice Potion. You should all know how to make this, but I'm adding a twist. You must make it so there is no color to give away the appearance. I will supply all ingredients. Your assignment is to make a clear, odorless, working Polyjuice Potion. A great deal of research is required and this assignment will not be worked on during class, with the exception of today and the day before the final drought is due. You will need to supply me with a list of your ingredients and the steps it takes to make your potion. Also, everyone will need to write a report on their findings. It must be three scrolls of parchment long. Is that clear?"

The class nodded and then everyone began working. I pushed my hair behind my ear and avoided looking at him. We had only a week and a half to work on the project and Easter Holidays seemed like the perfect time to really get most of the work done.

"So, I'm assuming you know how to do this? I don't really have the time to work on this project," He said in a gruff voice.

"I... I suppose I can do it alone," I stammered. My heart lifted somewhat from the pit of despair. If I didn't have him dragging me down, I might actually get a decent grade on this. I opened my _Advanced Potion-Making_ book and began taking notes on multiple ingredients so I could be prepared to put them together with the ingredients from the Polyjuice Potion.

I could hear a quill scratching away beside me and when I looked, I saw intricate patterns. They looked like just a jumble of scribbles to me, but I assumed they were Quidditch plays. I returned to my work and kept going until the bell rang.

I shoved my book and pieces of parchment into my bag haphazardly and then sloppily tossed my quills and ink into the other pouch. I stood up in a hurry and began walking to the door. I looked over at Sally, who was planning with her partner, and continued on.

"Why the rush?" A smooth voice called to me. I spun around and saw Oliver walking toward me with his usual casual but dreamy gait. I scolded myself for thinking of him in that way. I didn't have a chance with him. I would be considered blessed for the opportunity to work with him on this project, but I considered myself cursed beyond all reason.

"It's lunch and I need to get to the library," I said. The only way I could avoid eye contact with him was to look at my feet, which was very hard in the crowded corridors.

"Oh, ok. Well do you want to get together over the holiday to work on the project? I think I could manage to set aside some time from practice." He said, matching his step with mine.

"It really doesn't matter that much. I'm used to working alone on projects, so if you can't you shouldn't worry about," I said, still keeping my eyes down.

"Ok... where would I be able to find you if I do have extra time on my hands?" Oliver asked.

"The library. I'm usually there. But don't worry about it. It's not a big-" Oliver's hand grabbing my arm and pulling me toward him caught me off guard and interrupted me. I, against my will, looked up at him, in shock.

"You had better watch out. You almost ran into someone," He said, flashing a stunning smile at me.

My breath caught in my chest and I think my heart skipped a beat. I nodded in thanks and all too soon he had left my arm go. He walked away and I stood there, staring at him.


	2. The Potion

Chapter Two: The Potion

Before I knew it, it was Easter. I had stayed behind so that I could do research on the project. I had spent three days, from the time it opened to the time it closed, in the library. I hadn't expected to see Oliver at all, which didn't bother me in the least.

It was Tuesday afternoon, I had been in the library for about three hours and had a pile of potions books stacked around me. At one point I had counted eleven, but as the day progressed, the pile grew. I had left for a couple minutes to get another book and when I returned a brown-haired boy was in my chair, reading my books.

"Excuse me? Those are my books," I said before thinking. The boy turned and looked at me, my heart jumped into my throat and my breath, once more, caught in my throat.

"Sorry, I thought you might want some help." For the first time, he looked away from me first. He seemed almost embarrassed to be seen in the Library. I smiled at him meekly.

"I do actually. Umm... I'll need to clear a space for you." I began transferring the stacks of books onto the floor beside the table.

"Sorry I haven't helped you at all. I'm a bit of a deadbeat partner before a match," he said as he grabbed a particularly large stack of books. I looked over at him, mesmerized by the muscles bulging under his short sleeve shirt. I quickly looked away, my face heating up in embarrassment.

"You're just busy. Quidditch is very important." I was trying to make small talk. I hated small talk.

Oliver laughed as he sat down beside me. "I honestly doubt you, of all people, would think it interesting."

I blushed as I turned my head away from him, "You've got me there."

"So, what do I need to do?" Oliver asked, pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Well, I'm just researching certain plants with odorless or colorless properties. Also I was looking up whether or not the plants will react with the ingredients and ruin the Polyjuice potion," I said, pointing to my stack of notes.

"Ok, you lost me after colorless properties," Oliver laughed.

"Why don't you just compile a list of insects with colorless or odorless properties, ok?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Ok. I can do that." Oliver grabbed a book and began writing down names.

~*~

We spent a grand total of four hours in the Library; which added to a much larger total for me. I figured, since it was dinner and all, that I would allow him to go eat, I wasn't planning on leaving.

"We can be done for the day. I can finish the rest tomorrow. Would you mind meeting on Friday? I think we should be able to put together the potion. I can easily get the supplies from Professor Snape." I kept rambling. I should have stopped after asking him to meet on Friday.

He laughed at me then. I didn't understand why. I knew I had rambled, but that didn't warrant laughing. "Sure. I'll meet you in the Common Room around three?"

I nodded, "That'll be fine. I'll put the books away. Dinner should be starting soon."

He looked at me, his dark brown eyes boring into me. "I can help. It's not very fair of me to let you keep doing everything. Even with the upcoming match."

I nodded in resignation. He helped me replace the twenty or so books I'd dragged out over the course of the day.

~*~

When Friday came, I felt like a nervous wreck. My hair was messy and a shower hadn't helped. I tried to recall the charms Sally's older sister tried to teach us about make-up involving magic. I messed with my hair for half an hour and finally settled with just putting my hair into a pony-tail.

The next challenge that came involved my clothes. I didn't know what to wear. I had never met a boy somewhere with the intention of doing something. Even though this something was just making a silly potion. I flitted through my truck of clothes, tossing everything onto my bed.

I walked down the stairs, feeling even more self-conscious than ever. I was wearing a simple navy blue T-shirt and a simple pair of blue jeans. I felt awkward wearing the pair of blue ballet flats my aunt had given me. I usually wore my black school shoes. I hadn't noticed I was fiddling with my fingers until I hit the last stair.

"If you keep twisting your fingers, eventually, they might fall off." Oliver said, laughing.

My hands flew to my sides and I looked up at him. He was barely taller than I am, but his commanding presence made him seem easily ten inches taller.

"Shall we?" He asked. I nodded and we left the common room together.

"Professor Snape said we could get the supplies from the classroom, but we can't make the potion in there." I had been surprised that Professor Snape had been so nice to me. Maybe he took pity on me for being partnered with the one person who had distracted every other female partner in the school he'd had.

"He let you get supplies from his cabinet?" Oliver asked, he voice expressing his shock.

"I know, right?" I said, shocked as well.

~*~

We sat on the grass outside, all the ingredients we needed surrounding us. He was sitting very close. So close I could feel the warmth radiating off of his skin. I had the cauldron set up and began putting ingredients into it. Oliver was trying to start a fire underneath it, but it wasn't working.

"I'll start it," I said taking out my wand. I lit the fire with a quick flick of my wand and put it beside me.

"That was easier than I had anticipated." Oliver laughed.

It was growing dark by the time we got the potion stirred. As it was simmering, it had turned a nasty green color. My heart sank at that. I added the ingredients I hoped would take away the smell and color.

"What is that?" Oliver asked.

"Crocodile heart and Doxy eggs," I said, dropping the Doxy eggs into the potion.

I held my breath, unknowingly, as we waited. The color began to fade but the smell remained the same. I picked some more Doxy eggs and waited. The smell began to lessen and finally it, along with the color, dissipated.

I wafted the smoke, hoping that I wasn't just imagining things. I didn't smell anything. I looked at Oliver and he looked from the potion to me.

"I think we did it," he smiled.

"I think we did it," I said, overjoyed at our success.

"I'd say we should try some, but I really don't have the stomach for it. This stuff is so nasty," Oliver said, laughing.

"Good idea." I blew out the fire and then put the potion into a large container.

"Can I have a little of that? No one would believe me if I didn't bring proof that I had made something work in Potions." Oliver asked.

"Sure." I poured a small bit into a vial and handed it to him.

"You wouldn't want to go eat now, would you?" He asked, pocketing the vial.

"With you?" I asked, not quite grasping what he was asking.

He laughed, "Yea. To celebrate a potion well concocted?"

"Sure. That would be fun."

~*~

After dinner, we walked up to the Common Room and continued to talk. He was surprisingly easy to talk to. I began to wonder why he had intimidated me. He seemed so down to earth, so simple.

"You're more complex that you let on. Why are you so into school?" He asked abruptly.

"I hadn't ever given it much thought. My father is a Scholar and my mother is a teacher at a Muggle University. I've just always wanted to learn. It runs in the family." I shrugged.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but is your mum a Muggle?"

"No. Neither is my dad. My mum just loves school and didn't want to teach magic. Your parents?"

"Oh. Simple enough. Pure. My father works at the Ministry and my mother works at St. Mungo's."

"That's interesting. Why Quidditch?"

"I love flying."

"Simple enough. Are you pursuing it as a career?"

"Hopefully. I would like to get on with Puddlemere United."

"Your favorite team I suspect?"

"Yea. It's weird how easy it is to talk to you."

"Like wise."

I heard a clock chiming in the background and then looked at the time. It was nearly 1 o'clock. I looked over at him, "I had best get to bed. It's getting late."

"Yea, early morning practice. Good night, Leah."

My heart sputtered at how he said my name. "Good night, Oliver."


	3. The Change

Chapter Three: The Change

I awoke at four the next morning. A buzzing was going off beside my head. My hand groped around until I found the source of the incessant buzzing. I tried to turn it off, but it didn't work. I looked at it more closely and finally found the off button. I yawned and stretched; I sat up and looked around as my eyes slowly adjusted. I could hear someone snoring to my left, Alison never snored.

I figured it was because she was getting sick. People do get sick. I walked around to my trunk, but hit something in the way. I stifled a cry of pain and bit my lip. I found my wand and lit up my room. Only it wasn't my room. There were boys in the beds.

I let out a gasp of horror. Had I slept with Oliver? I clearly remembered going to my room after we left the Common Room. Had I walked in my sleep into his room? Was that even possible?

I quickly and quietly walked out of the room and headed up the staircase to the girls' dormitories, where I belonged. I hadn't gotten a step further before the stairs flattened underneath me and sent me flying down the stair case. I flew down into the Common Room and found several people waiting there, all dressed in their Quidditch uniforms.

The Weasley twins began laughing at me, "Oi! Oliver, haven't you learned that we can't go up the stairs yet, mate?"

"Believe me, we've tried to get up there for years, hasn't worked yet, has it, Fred?" The twin on the left said.

"That's right, George," Fred said.

"Are you going to play in your pajamas or get dressed and go down to the pitch?" Angelina asked.

"I'll meet you down there in a couple minutes. Just a late night," I said in a husky voice.

"Alright mate," George said, winking at me.

This couldn't possibly be happening! I had somehow become Oliver over night. There had to be a way to fix this.

I hurried up the stairs and ran into a slender figure. I caught her arms to keep her from falling. After realizing it was my body I held in my hands, I let out a cry of relief.

"Oh Oliver. Thank Merlin! What are we going to do?" I asked, my eyes welling up with tears.

"For one, you've got to pull yourself together. I can't go around bawling like a girl," Oliver scolded.

"Excuse me? If you haven't already noticed, I'm a girl. In your blooming body!" I shouted.

"Ok. Calm down. We'll sort this out. Oh fuck! I have Quidditch practice!" Oliver groaned.

"Yea, I know. They've gone down to the pitch." I said.

"Well you can't play. Well, my body can, but not with you using it," Oliver mused.

"Thanks Oliver. That's really helping this situation." I glowered at him.

"I have to cancel practice. Rather, you've got to cancel practice," he said, scratching my jaw.

"Don't you dare ruin my body! I swear if you harm on hair on my head I'll put a curse on you, not even your mother could take off." I warned in a stern, booming voice.

"Just go tell them practice is off due to a cold. After you change. You can't go running around without a shirt." He said.

"Are you kidding me? Can't you wear normal clothes to bed?" I shouted.

"Well I'm not enjoying the frill either. You do have a nice body though, hard to tell under

all those layers you wear." He smirked.

"How dare you! Don't you dare look at my body, you perve!" I shouted in an all too manly voice.

He smirked at me and strutted up the stair case.

I wanted to scream at him. I walked up the stairs and into the boys' dormitory, which had a musty odor that wasn't too pleasant. I tried to find some clean clothes, and upon not finding any, put on clothes that looked better than the others.

Against my will, I caught myself itching my stomach. I felt the washboard abs under the shirt and then shuddered. If I was able to touch his body, then he ultimately would be touching my body. And my body is definitely private property and should be off limits. I would have to make a note of it to make a rule against body touching.

I ran out to the pitch, enjoying the feel of athletic legs pushing me forward. I got up to the group that was waiting around, chatting.

"Oliver, hey mate. Who were you with last night?" George asked.

"I'll bet she was very nice, if you get what I mean," Fred commented.

"Er... yea. I've got to cancel practice today. I'm not really feeling up to flying around. So... sorry to get you up so early," I said, hoping they wouldn't be angry with me.

"Sure. Enjoy your time with her, mate. Any girl who keeps you from the pitch has got to be special." Fred winked at me and George punched my shoulder. I smiled at them and then walked with them back to the Common Room.

I saw my body sitting by the fire and walked over to it. I didn't know what I was wearing, I surely had never owned a tank top in my life. At least not that I knew of.

I sat on the couch next to Oliver's chair and waited for him to speak.

"I suspect things went nicely?" He asked, laughing.

"Sure." I waited until everyone left before adding, "What in bloody hell am I wearing? I look like a prostitute!" I shouted.

"I think your body looks very nice. How the hell am I supposed to know what girls wear?" He snickered.

"I think we need to set some ground rules. There is no body touching. You can not touch my body, ever!" I said in an even tone.

"No guarantees," he smiled.

"If I didn't love my body so much, I'd wring your neck. That is my body and you will treat it like a temple, do you understand? Nothing touches it that could cause harm, no boys or girls will touch it. You can't even touch it."

"Too late. I had to get dressed somehow."

"You're impossible. I'm going to fix this. And you are going to be good to my body. In return, I'll get this solved by the match on Friday."

"Take your time, I'll be here." He said as he stood up and walked away.

~*~

It took me until twelve to track down Sally. If I could trust anyone to help me solve this, it was her. She'd, hopefully, know what to do.

"Sally!" I called to her. Her head turned around and she looked around her. I waved at her and she gave me a quick glance and turned around quickly.

I walked up to her and sat down beside her. "Sally, I really need your help."

"I'm sure you need lots of help. But none that involve you humiliating me." She said shortly.

"Sal, it's me, Leah. A potion went really wrong, I need your help," I pleaded with her.

"Then tell me something only Leah would know." Sally folded her arms across her chest and waited.

"Um... you were born to a witch mother and a muggle father, your mother left your father when you were two and took you with her. But she got deathly ill and you were sent back to your father when you were six. He had cancer and died when you were ten. You've been living with your mother's parents ever since." I said expertly. She hadn't even shared that with me until last June.

"Leah, are you seriously in there?" She asked, her eyes widened with shock.

"I wish it weren't so. You've got to help me. I don't like being a bloke. They smell," I said, my eyes tearing up.

Sally laughed and hugged me. "It'll be ok. We can go to McGonagall. Maybe she'll have something to fix it."


End file.
